Rise of Empires: Spain

The good news is that the current Spanish government is not short of money for the time being.

The economic growth brought by industry and infrastructure is difficult to predict, which has also enabled the Spanish economy to take off rapidly.

As of April 1872, Carlo received the Spanish economic forecast data given by the Spanish Finance Department, which has increased significantly compared with last year.

Seeing such exaggerated economic data, Carlo finally understood how harmful the Bourbon dynasty's incompetent rule was to Spain.

It can even be said bluntly that Spain declined in the hands of the Bourbon dynasty. Although Spain during the Habsburg dynasty was also weakening, its overall strength was still at the level of a European hegemon.

After the Bourbon dynasty came to power through the War of Succession, Spain began a long period of decline. Both Queen Isabella and her father Ferdinand VII were famous incompetent kings in Spanish history.

Queen Isabella needs no further explanation. She was so lewd and immoral that even her son Alfonso had blood problems.

Queen Isabel's father, Ferdinand VII, is the most infamous king in Spanish history. Napoleon once supported his brother Joseph Bonaparte to become the King of Spain, but was strongly opposed by the Spaniards.

In the end, Ferdinand VII was restored to the throne with Napoleon's permission, and the Bourbon dynasty resumed its rule in Spain. Ferdinand VII, who regained the throne, carried out extremely brutal suppression of Spanish revolutionaries and called his reign after restoration the Dark Decade.

It is worth mentioning that the independence of Spanish American colonies occurred under the rule of Ferdinand VII.

In addition, he forcibly broke the rules of the Bourbon dynasty and appointed his daughter Isabel as the heir to the throne instead of his original brother Carlos, which led to the Carlos War that plagued Spain for decades.

It can be said that the decline of the Spanish dynasty is inseparable from the Bourbon family, and even more so from Ferdinand VII and Queen Isabel.

The father and daughter ruled Spain for 54 years, turning Spain from a powerful country into a second-strongest country in Europe.

If there had been no accident with Carlo, the two mediocre kings Alfonso XII and XIII would have come to power one after another, completely losing the hope of Spain's revival.

However, this point also shows the support and love of the Spanish for the monarchy. The extremely incompetent Bourbon dynasty in Spain persisted in its rule until later generations.

Although there were many times in the middle that Spain became a republic, the fact that it was finally restored proved the status of the Bourbon dynasty in the hearts of the Spanish.

In other words, the Spaniards of this era still quite recognized the monarchy. It's just that the Bourbon dynasty has been ruling Spain for nearly a hundred years, and the Spanish people's recognition of the monarchy has been transferred to the Bourbon dynasty.

But now with the accident of Carlo, the Spaniards naturally have different choices.

One of the reasons why King Amadeo failed in history was that he lost Prime Minister Primo, the biggest supporter of his royal power, before he arrived in Spain.

The second is that Amadeo did not fully face up to the responsibility of the King of Spain. His Italian identity made him not have much support in Spain. Coupled with the joint opposition of the Republicans and the Carlists, the Savoy Dynasty only lasted a few years in Spain.

But it is different now. With the support of Prime Minister Primo, Carlo's throne is quite stable.

In addition, the Carlists have been eliminated, and the Bourbon Dynasty can no longer pose a big threat to Carlo. Under Carlo's propaganda, even the uneducated Spanish peasants know the pain brought to them by the corrupt and ignorant Bourbon Dynasty.

And the reduction of agricultural taxes and exemption of tithes are the gifts that Carlo brings to all Spanish farmers, and they are also the best way to brush their favor.

Under the propaganda of a large number of newspapers, the people may not know what Carlo looks like, but they must know that this young king from Italy has promulgated policies to reduce agricultural taxes and abolish tithes.

Compared with the previous reign of Queen Isabel, the conservative Spanish farmers naturally know who they should support.

At least their taxes were actually reduced, which was also the best way for Carlo to win the hearts of the people. Only when the peasants tasted the actual sweetness, they would know who they should be loyal to.

As long as he got the support of these conservative peasants, Carlo's rule in Spain would be irreplaceable. The reason why Spain is still a monarchy in later generations is because so many conservatives support the monarchy.

At present, the peasants who make up the majority of the population support Carlo's rule in Spain, which is actually equivalent to most of Spain supporting Carlo's rule.

With the support of these peasants, the remaining opposition, including the church and the republicans, can be easily dealt with.

What's more, the current church is by no means a monolithic entity. The church is definitely one of the major forces in Spain, and its status and influence are no less than those of the Spanish nobles.

But the problem is that the current Spanish church does not have real military power. All they have is countless land and wealth.

This is like a fat sheep with a fat body. In front of a butcher holding a butcher's knife, in addition to fleeing in panic, perhaps it can only close its eyes and wait for the butcher's knife to come.

The Pope is unlikely to support them. Although the Church is powerful in Spain, it is the least likely to affect and threaten the government.

Of course, it would be a good thing if the Church dared to incite rebellion. Carlo and Prime Minister Primo are trying to find a suitable excuse to take action against the Church.

Carlo's idea of ​​establishing the Spanish Archbishop is not just a thought, but a real intention. The title of the Spanish Archbishop is exactly what Carlo uses to win over the loyalists in the Church and divide the Church.

If Pedro, the Archbishop of Toledo, is unwilling to be loyal to Carlo for the title of the Spanish Archbishop, there will naturally be other bishops willing to be loyal to Carlo for this title.

After all, this is the real Spanish Archbishop, who has the power to control all Catholic churches and bishops in Spain.

As for whether the Pope is willing to see Spain establish an archbishop to control the Catholic Church in Spain, it is not up to the Pope himself.

After all, the Pope is still in the Vatican, and the Catholic Church is a lamb to be slaughtered, not to mention the Spanish Church.

Although Spain has not reached Carlo's ideal state, it has made great progress compared to the reign of Queen Isabel.

The people trust the government. After all, various policies are promulgated by the current government, and the current government is a new government formed after the revolution. The hatred of the people for the royal government during the Bourbon dynasty will naturally not be transferred to the current government.

It is also thanks to Carlo being the king elected by the new government that the people's hatred for the original king will not be transferred to Carlo.

This is also the advantage of choosing a king. The disadvantage is that it is difficult for the elected king to grasp power, but Carlo's influence has been increasing in his own layout, and it is also very promising to gain more power in the future.

With the trust of the people in the government, the construction and reform of the government have also been much smoother.

In 1871, Spain's GDP reached 6.6778 billion pesetas, an increase of more than 8% compared to 1870.

This growth rate is relatively normal. After all, there was still war in Spain in 1870, but Spain spent 1871 in a peaceful development.

In 1871, Spain also received assistance from Italy and Austria-Hungary, and the government also received a large amount of low-interest loans, which is why the economy developed so strongly.

Fiscal revenue also rarely exceeded 400 million pesetas, which was more than last year's fiscal expenditure, reaching a new high for the Spanish government, totaling 475.3 million pesetas.

However, due to more industrial construction and the construction of railways and roads, Spain's total fiscal expenditure in 1871 also broke a new high, reaching 512.5 million pesetas.

The good news is that the fiscal deficit in 1871 was only 37.2 million pesetas, which was more than 22 million less than in 1870.

The increase in fiscal revenue was mainly due to the restoration of order in Cuba, which provided a lot of income for Spain.

In addition, the increase in people's actual income and the increase in jobs brought by a large number of infrastructure and industrial bases have continuously increased government tax revenue.

Among the Spanish government's fiscal revenue a few years ago, agricultural taxes accounted for the majority. But now, the tax revenue from industry and finance has also reached a considerable scale, which also means that Spain is transforming from an agricultural country to an industrial country.

However, such a transformation will certainly not be completed in a few years. According to Spain's current progress, it can be built into an agricultural industrial country in the next ten years.

Perhaps after more than 20 years of struggle, Spain has the hope of completely getting rid of its agricultural status and becoming a powerful industrial country.

Most of the fiscal expenditure of more than 100 million pesetas in 1871 compared with 1870 was invested in the construction of railways and roads and the development of industry.

Such an investment is obviously not a loss, and this money will be fed back to the economy and income of the Spanish government in the future in various ways.

And according to the current economic development of the Spanish government, the total fiscal expenditure and fiscal revenue in 1872 will increase significantly, thereby further reducing the gap with the powerful countries.

In fact, the biggest gap is still population and colonies. The reason why Spain's fiscal revenue is so small is that a considerable part of the factor is that Spain has a population of less than 17 million.

Such a population is less than half of Germany, Austria-Hungary and France, close to half of Britain, and more than half of Italy. Naturally, the government's total fiscal revenue cannot catch up with these powerful countries.

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